HoiAn, Vietnam
We took the sleeper train to Danang, and are now staying in Hoi An, at the Thanh Xuan Hotel. A typhoon is threatening to strike any day now, but so far, the weather’s quite pleasant.
Danang appears to be quite a wealthy town, with plenty of expensive cognac and whiskey on display. Tourists don’t seem to stay here though. Like us, they move on to Hoi An, a mere 30 minute drive away. We had a hard time finding a 4-wheel taxi to take us to Hoi An, so we had to call and ask the hotel to send a driver!
HoiAn is a picturesque town, with many well preserved colonial buildings (thus the UNESCO World Heritage Sight status). Along the river, there are many inviting restaurants. After stopping in for dinner at one of these restaurants, we remembered why it’s best to get away from the more popular tourist spots. One man stood by us throughout most of the meal, trying to sell us on his services for tours to his small town, while a little girl (possibly his granddaughter) tried pressuring us into buying her bracelets. The restaurant staff didn’t discourage it, so I suspect they’re related. After that experience, we vowed to stick to the rooftop restaurants, or the ones that have hotel staff (i.e. bouncers) patrolling the street side tables.
A couple of things that HoiAn is famous for is 1) great food, and 2) quick, decent quality custom tailor shops.
To truly appreciate the food, we attended a class at the Red Bridge Cooking School . The class started with a tour of the local market, which is a great way to become familiar with the local herbs and vegetables. We then boarded a long-tail boat for a 30 minute cruise up the river to the Red Bridge Restaurant. What a beautiful setting. They gave us a quick tour of their own herb garden, before class began. For some dishes, we would just watch the pro, but for most, we got our own cooking station to work at. The most memorable dish that I learned to make was fresh rice paper. I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the rehydrated rice paper again, after tasting how good the fresh ones are. To make rice paper, you first soak dried rice in water for 7 hours. You then rinse it, and then blend the rice to make a liquidy paste – like pancake dough. You take a large put of boiling water and cover it with a sheet of cotton. For each sheet of rice paper, you pour a ladle of dough over the cotton, cover it for a minute, and then peel it off with a stick made from bamboo. Thicker paper requires larger ladles, and longer steaming time.
In the evening, I got fitted for a custom summer dress, modeled off of one of my favorite dresses that’s getting a little ratty. It would be ready within less than 24 hours. While I was at it, I figured I’d get some custom sandals made to, made to the actual outline of my foot.
Before catching our flight to Saigon, we couldn’t leave HoiAn without a walking tour of the old city. The Fujian Assembly House was especially impressive, with beautiful gardens, artwork, and carpentry. We only had a couple of hours, so the rest of the walk was mostly for the exercise, with interesting ambiance.
